02 Apr 08 Food
It’s often said that food tastes better the next day.
Well some things do. I can’t say I’m keen on warmed up fries, or cold liver, but many things ARE better the next day.
I almost always eat lunch at home. In fact, we eat most of our meals at home. For starters (excuse the pun) you know what you’re getting, and it’s almost always a whole lot cheaper.
I can’t help but smile at those that complain they have no money, but get 2-3 coffees at starbucks each day, and also breakfast on the way to the office, lunch out while they’re there, and sometimes a meal on the way home too. It’s easy to spend in one day eating out, the same as one would spend on a whole weeks groceries, and that’s not eating in the posh places downtown either!
As I’m more often than not working at home, I usually cook dinner. I try to make a varied selection of meals, and we try to eat as much fresh food as possible. TV dinners are a no-no.
Do we have a weekly plan? Heck no, not usually. I often make up my mind what’s for dinner at around 2pm or sometimes even later. One doesn’t have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking or preparing many meals anyway. I make full use of the microwave too; I don’t take any notice of those that walk around muttering about radioactive food. Oh, and if you only think of a microwave as something to defrost frozen items in, or re-heat leftovers, or the cup of coffee that’s gone cold (yes, I do all of those things too), then you’re missing out.
I often cook fresh vegetables (we try to have something green most mealtimes) in the microwave. Brocolli, cauliflower, asparagus all come out just fine. Potatoes cook great too.
Anyway, I digress. I wasn’t really writing about the virtues of the microwave, just mentioning it as another, perfectly acceptable (in my view) method of cooking.
As a child, my mother would buy a huge piece of beef, and we’d have roast beef dinner on Sunday, cold beef and pickles on Monday, and cottage pie on Tuesday. Now that was getting some mileage. It was a common thing though in England back then. In fact it was so common for housewives to buy a peice of meat on Saturday, big enough to last at least two days, that butchers stores (most of which were family run then) were usually closed on a Monday.
Nowadays I don’t do that, or stick to a routine as such. I don’t cook anything really exciting usually, as I’m busy working most afternoons. I also make use of a crockpot at times as well, and salads are good to eat, particularly in the warmer weather, and a variety of those can be made quite quickly too.
This evening…?
I’m not sure yet.
Tags: 2pm, asparagus, cauliflower, coffees, cottage pie, cup of coffee, fresh food, groceries, leftovers, mealtimes, method of cooking, microwave, office lunch, pickles, pun, starbucks, tv dinners, virtues, whole lot, working at home
03 Dec 07 Real Age
I get these emails from this web site called Real Age. Now, I tend to take all this stuff with a pinch of salt, as they have a motive of course – to buy medications, and supplements from their sponsors.
However, I took their ‘real age” test again today, and I’ve got a bit younger, but I’m still older than I am really but only by 0.2 of a year.
I seem to be doing much that is right. They list things like little or no exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke (apparently that kills 20,000 people in the US every year). My blood pressure is good, I don’t drive to fast, I get enough vitamins, don’t eat too much red meat, have a diverse diet, don’t drink too much, take no medications, and clean my teeth every day.
Things I do wrong, which I already knew about, include not eating breakfast every day, being overweight and not doing enough exercise.
Although I clean my teeth every day, at least twice, and use a mouthwash, according to this survey, I am prematurely aging as I don’t floss my teeth on a daily basis. Oh shock, horror, disgust, I hear some of you exclaim!
It goes on to recommend that I should eat more grains, more vegetables and more fruit. I thought I did quite well in those areas, as I eat wholemeal bread at least 50% of the time, and always wholegrain rice. I eat fresh vegetables with most meals, with a good selection of green stuffs like broccoli, cauliflower, collards etc. As for fruit, I know I should probably eat more. I eat bananas quite often, but I simply don’t have much of a sweet tooth, and I find savory items more appealing. I will try harder.
All in all, not too bad then, but my biggest failing is lack of exercise. I guess I should start some kind of walking regime each morning. I always find lots of excuses of course. Lack of time for one. I’m not a morning person, but perhaps a brisk walk will help wake me up, and put me in the mood for some breakfast. We’ll see.
Tags: broccoli, cauliflower, collards, daily basis, disgust, floss, lack of exercise, medications, mouthwash, pinch of salt, real age test, savory, secondhand cigarette smoke, shock horror, sweet tooth, teeth, things i do, try harder, vegetables, wholemeal bread
